In the Moment
by pixeljam
Summary: After Ed and Al are stuck in Germany, Al can't help but let pretty girl catch his eye, seeing as he never had a date in Amestris as a metal suit. Takes place after Shamballa.


"Who are you looking at?"

Al flushed, his round cheeks turning a rosy color. "N-no one."

Ed glanced down at his brother, smirking slightly. "Are you sure?"

Al nodded.

Despite his brother's reassurance, Ed continued to watch his brother's movements carefully. With every step, Al's movements slowed, his walk stiffening, and his eyes shifting around before resting across the street. Ed followed Al's gaze. Suddenly, he burst into a large smile.

"It's that girl over there, isn't it?"

Al's face went from pink to scarlet in seconds. "N-n-n-no!"

The blond teen grabbed Al in a headlock, rubbing his brother's hair affectionately. "You're such a bad liar!"

"I-it's not like that!" Al's stutters were becoming more defined. He flattened his hair back with flustered movements.

"She's cute, you know."

"I didn't notice."

Ed knew his brother too well to be deterred. The flush of his brother's cheeks, the way Al's eyes kept glancing in her direction…Ed knew it had to be the girl. She was with a group of other girls, all in pretty little dresses and bows. But she was definitely the one Al admired from a distance.

The girl turned, her eyes drifting to the two young men. She gave a small, shy wave. Al raised his hand, jerking back in a wave. The girl returned to her friends, but Al continued to stare.

"So what's her name?" Ed asked with a smooth voice.

"Veronica," Al murmured slightly, after a slight pause.

"And you know her how?"

Al rubbed his neck nervously. "We…may have met downtown once…or twice…"

Ed smiled. "You like her, right?"

Al didn't answer, merely dropping his gaze to his feet.

Ed inspected the girl from across the street. She stood with her friends at a small shop, pointing at trinkets and dresses. Ed had to admit, she was pretty. The girl had long dark hair and pretty grey eyes. Her smile was small, dainty almost. "Well," he said slowly, "she's cute."

"She…she's alright."

"You are such a liar!" Ed laughed. "You should ask her to a film or something."

"No way!" Al's brown eyes grew wider, "I could never do that!"

Ed laughed. He and his brother were almost complete opposites at times. Ed was extremely self-confident, no matter where he was or who he was with. Al was much more conservative, even awkward at times. Ed had never really seen him around females, other than Winry, who Al didn't seem to really be interested in. But during the three months that Al and Ed had been in Germany, Al had been surrounded by pretty girls, and now it seemed that he had for once crushed on someone.

Ed nearly ruffled his brother's hair again. Al was absolutely adorable sometimes.

"You should!"

"Well why don't you?" Al shot back, throwing his brother's arm off his shoulder, suddenly indignant. "You go ask a girl out! Heck, why don't you date someone?" Suddenly, he stopped, his eyes widening. "I-I'm sorry, brother. I wasn't thinking."

Ed waved Al's apology away. "It's fine. Never mind. You don't have to ask her out. I just want you to be happy."

"And you the same," Al said quietly. "I'm sorry about Winry…"

Ed shook his head, his golden bangs and ponytail waving back and forth. "Just forget it. Let's finish our shopping—."

"Good morning, Alphonse."

The two brothers whipped around. The girl, Veronica, stood behind them. Ed noticed immediately how his younger brother stiffened, eyes widening and cheeks returning to their flushed color.

Ed had to club Al in the back before his brother actually managed to answer.

"Oh, hey Veronica."

Veronica gave a very pretty smile, batting her eyelashes. "I'm guessing this is your brother?"

Ed threw out a hand to shake. "I'm Edward Elric, Alphonse's older brother. And you're Veronica?"

The girl dipped her head, her dark hair fanning around her face. "It's a pleasure, Edward." She redirected her gaze to Al. "I was just wondering if you'd like to go see a film tomorrow night."

The brown-haired boy seemed to have forgotten how to speak, as he opened and closed his mouth multiple times, seemingly unable to answer. Ed rolled his eyes, smirking slightly. His brother, the charmer.

"Of course, Al would love to go!" Ed said rather loudly, slapping his brother roughly on the back. "How about he meets you at your house tomorrow night at seven. Would that work?"

The girl gave a small, giggling laugh. "That seems to be appropriate." She turned and gave a small wave. "See you tomorrow, Alphonse." She hurried away, her skirt flapping around her legs as she rushed down the street to her waiting friends.

Al shook his head, breaking from his trance. "Wait…" he paused, "what just happened?"

Ed gave a wide smile. "Seems like you didn't need my help after all. You're getting a date with your pretty little girlfriend."

"B-b-b-but…"

"You _do_ know where she lives, right?"

"O-of course!"

"Well, we had better get back to the house and find you some nice clothes!"

"Brother!"

* * *

**I actually wrote this a while ago, and stopped before I could make it into a two-shot. Maybe I'll go back and write more at some other point, but right now, original novels have to come first.**

**Fullmetal Alchemist...I have to admit this is probably my favorite anime of all time (the first series and Brotherhood both). This takes place after Shambala, when Ed and Al are still in Germany. Don't ask me if I like Brotherhood better than the original series, because I'll tell you I like them both for different reasons. This was written before I watched Brotherhood, which as you know has a different ending. **

**Anyhow, I'm busy with an original novel right now that I'm hoping I can get published. I'll let you all know when that happens :) As for my Grounded sequel that I keep getting PMs about, I will write it, I can tell you that. But it might take me a while because of my original novel work, so you'll all have to be patient. **

**Thanks for reading :)**

**~Pixie**


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